I was just wondering if you
could answer two questions my
wife and I arrived at in a recent
discussion.

First;
can you be a "male feminist,"
that is, a man that embodies
the beliefs of feminists, but
is (obviously) not a woman?
Second; can you be a feminist
and be Pro-Life? (the right
to choose seems to be such a
hot topic and it would seem
to fly in the face of much of
what feminists believe in.)

Thanks
for your time,

Michael and Jennifer
Anacortes, WA

Dear
Michael and Jennifer,

I
meet male feminists every day
-- so yes they/you do exist.
Historically, I think that there
was a need for feminism to create
woman only spaces -- these spaces
hadn't previously existed and
women needed to have these issues
(rape, incest, domestic violence,
street harassment, etc...) prioritized.
Men weren't always included
in that process -- though there
were always some -- and the
few that were actively involved
seemed to be doing so mostly
"on behalf of women."

Today,
thankfully, feminist men are
involved for their own benefit.
Feminism liberates men from
masculinity as much as it liberates
women from femininity -- therefore,
men's involvement is for themselves.

As
for pro-life -- yes you are
right that it would be antithetical
to feminism, for feminism to
deny this choice to women who
don't believe in abortion. However,
you also can't be actively pro-life,
because doing so denies this
choice to women.